The gun maker's shares shot up 24.1% last month, hitting a new high. Ruger, ranked No. 2 on the IBD 50 list, started the month with strong momentum from its third-quarter results on Oct. 31. The gun maker said Q3 EPS and sales surged 57% and 47% respectively, beating estimates. Sturm Ruger and Smith & Wesson (SWHC) shares also jumped after President Obama was re-elected. Firearm sales have risen in recent years on concerns the government might enact tougher gun control laws.

In Nov. 19, Sturm Ruger announced a special dividend of $4.50 per share. Tyson Foods (TSN), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and others issued a special dividend so shareholders can avoid the risk of higher taxes in 2013 if the fiscal cliff isn't averted. Wal-Mart (WMT), Hot Topic (HOTT) and Buckle (BKE) moved up their dividends on fiscal cliff worries.

Qihoo launched its own Internet search engine in August, which gained 8%-10% of the Chinese market share in Q3, according to T.H. Capital analyst Tian X. Hou. Baidu (BIDU), the search engine leader, said it would be increasing its investment in the mobile and cloud areas.

But while Qihoo shares are poised to hit a 52-week high, Baidu shares tumbled 9.8% in November, hitting a two-year low.

Ranked No. 20 on the IBD 50 list, Hertz saw its shares climb nearly 18% during the month. On Nov. 16, the rental car company received FTC approval to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive (DTG) for $2.56 billion. That ends a long bidding war between Hertz and Avis Budget (CAR). With the buyout, Hertz is now the largest publicly traded U.S. car rental company.

Hertz reported Q3 earnings after the market closed on Oct. 31. Hertz said its EPS rose 24%, beating analyst views. While its revenue rose 4% to $2.5 billion, that fell short of estimates.

See Also

The travel-booking industry group was the top performer Friday, and Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) was a big part of the reason. It gapped out of a base to an all-time high after an upbeat Q2 report. Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) also gapped higher and was trading near a buy point. And Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR) broke ...

Two travel-related companies are breaking out Friday after issuing estimate-beating quarterly earnings: Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL). The travel site gapped up to a new high in huge volume in the stock market today, breaking out of a flat base with a 115.10 buy ...

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) on Thursday announced a $1 billion share-buyback plan, three days after the China search leader missed on Q2 earnings and gave weak revenue guidance amid continued heavy spending on its emerging online-to-offline business. Baidu stock was up more than 2% in midday trading in the ...

Yelp (NYSE:YELP) stock plunged Wednesday after the crowdsourced review site posted weak guidance, triggering at least six ratings downgrades and five price target cuts. The company also announced that its co-founder and chairman is leaving the board of directors. Yelp stock was down 26% to 24.90 in ...

China has more people on the Internet than the U.S. and India combined, and yet its glass is not yet half full. Internet users in China reached 668 million at the end of June, up 6% from June 2014, according to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center. Still, that number equals ...

07/29/2015 02:39 PM ET

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